A Hoax in a Coffee Cup

Be aware! The Starbucks closings could be a hoax.

Sure, the company announced that they will be closing 600 stores, but I believe it's a huge marketing ploy.

Remember new Coke?

No one would be so stupid to get rid of the most famous flavor in the world. But that's what the Coca-Cola Company did, or seemed to do in 1985. The flagship brand was made sweeter and reintroduced as "new" Coke (later Coke II) but it fell on its face after a public backlash that ran for several months.

Wikipedia puts it gently:

"Public reaction to the change was poor, and the new cola was a major marketing failure. The subsequent reintroduction of Coke's original formula led to a significant gain in sales."

So was it a marketing disaster or a desperate move to drum up sales of the newly reintroduced "Classic" Coke.

No one could be that dumb, or that brilliant.

So say you are an overpriced coffee vendor. The economy is tightening and consumers are counting their pennies. The first thing that every self-help economist says is to give up the $4 Grande latté from Starbucks and save money.

But if you announce that some of the spendthrifts' favorite stores are going to close you force some folks to act and the set up a website -- SaveOurStarbucks.com that advises:

"With Starbucks' July 1, 2008, announcement to close 600 stores, there is likely a location near you that is scheduled to close. This is the place to tell the world your Starbucks story and how much you value your local location. Who knows, it may help keep it open..."

In the Atlanta area 10 stores are closing, including two along the East-West Connector and one in Vinings Village. Vinings residents are planning a rally on Saturday.

Could this all be engineered by the vente coffee roaster? Who could be that brilliant? Or that dumb?

How Not To Get Hired

CareerBuilder.com has issued its annual survey of the worst job interview mistakes.

I can probably list a few that didn't make it because they happened to us, but it was a few years ago:

• Applicant for a news reporting jobs said she was shy and required a private office.

• Candidate asked about mileage reimbursement for her commute to work.

And those losers we did hire:

• Ad sales rep took her kids with her on sales calls and her reports were like a verbatuim taped replay of her (long) day.

• Secretary spent time on the phone trying to find a date for her husband so she could continue her affair.

Here are 10 real-life examples from CareerBuilder.com's survey:

• Candidate answered cell phone and asked the interviewer to leave her own office because it was a "private" conversation.

• Applicant told the interviewer he wouldn't be able to stay with the job long because he thought he might get an inheritance if his uncle died and his uncle wasn't "looking too good."

• The job seeker asked the interviewer for a ride home after the interview.

• The applicant smelled his armpits on the way to the interview room.

• Candidate said she could not provide a writing sample because all of her writing had been for the CIA and it was "classified."

• Candidate told the interviewer he was fired for beating up his last boss.

• When the applicant was offered food before the interview, he declined saying he didn't want to line his stomach with grease before going out drinking.

• An applicant said she was a "people person" not a "numbers person" – in her interview for an accounting position.

• During a phone interview the candidate flushed the toilet while talking to hiring manager.

• The applicant took out a hair brush and brushed her hair.

Believe it or not, these people probably did find work somewhere (making more than you or I do)!

Happy Birthday America!

We celebrated the Fourth of July by continuing our traditions this year.

While we missed the parade in Marietta, I watched some of it on TV.

We joined Sharon and Tom at the Cobb GOP Barbecue along with every elected official and every wannabe politician in the county. We also learned a lesson, while you might get a chance to win a fabulous prize by buying a raffle ticket (or 17 of them as I did), it also means that you have to wait until the end of the event to see if you win.

We enjoyed the first few speakers -- Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Rep. Tom Price and Rep. Phil Gingrey -- before the first round of the drawing. But by the time we got down to part-time-deputy-assistant Dogcatcher candidates it was getting close to four o'clock and we were still keeping our fingers crossed that we might win something. Then they called the band back up for another set.

Despite the wait, we didn't win. But we learned a lesson, don't buy the raffle tickets if you want to leave early.

There was a major theme to the speeches tough, from every level of candidate, and it went like this:

"I know that John McCain wasn't my first choice for president, or even my second choice, or my third choice (one state senator admitted that he wasn't even his fourth choice, but that guy dropped out of the race) but he is now our choice for President and I support him and urge you to support him too."

This came on the same day that an Ann Coulter column asked the question, "How drunk do Republicans have to be to vote for McCain?"

So we march to victory in November holding our noses and reminding ourselves, "It's for the Supreme Court, it's for the Supreme Court."

Politics out of the way, we traveled toward a home near the square for our second barbecue of the day. There were even politicians there (mostly judges). We had a good dinner and met some new friends.

We decided to leave just before the fireworks, saving ourselves to time in the post-party traffic jam.

We watched the Marietta light show from our deck and even had a competing show coming from Charlton Forge nearby. (Yes, the photo is of Marietta Square fireworks, but it's from last year and I didn't take it.)

Happy Birthday America. It was a great Fourth of July.